Guys vs. Girls

Guys vs Girls

The classic battle, “Guys vs Girls,” who is better? Who is smarter? Who is funnier?  While I can’t (or probably shouldn’t) comment on these questions, what I can comment on is who is bigger, stronger, faster.  Before puberty there is essentially no difference between males in females in height, weight and body size.  Then all of a sudden puberty hits, which typically occurs earlier in females, and the girls begin to tower over the boys while laughing at their small, weak, immature statures.  Eventually the guys catch up and their bodies begin to develop.  When it’s all said and done, Males tend to have less body fat and more muscle and bone mass when compared to females.  Females also tend to be shorter and lighter.   

In terms of absolute strength (total amount of weight you can lift), males typically are stronger due to the higher quantity of muscle mass and it’s estimated that females have two-thirds the strength that males do.  However, in terms of relative strength (amount you can lift per amount of muscle mass you have) females are just as strong as males.  Actually females may actually be able to increase muscle mass at a faster rate than males. 

 

There are several theories or possible explanations for these differences but in the end we really still don’t know why.  From a developmental standpoint, a lot of the differences can be attributed to hormonal differences. For example, during puberty females have higher estrogen levels which promote fat deposition and breast development while males have higher levels of Testosterone which promote muscle and bone development as well as other characteristics.  Some people believe these hormone differences attribute to these differences over time but females athletes and bodybuilders are proof that females can develop muscle to a similar extent as males.  Other possible mechanisms include: gender predisposition, activity levels, styles of training, nutrition, etc.

So, in the end, to answer the question of who is better? It depends ( I know a cop-out answer), but it depends on so many different variables it’s tough to say for sure!